Yet another dumb question...

[Darkplanet01]

this one concerning model-making. What program(s) can I use to make my own units for Battlezone 2? And where get I get them? I have found quite a bit of information but little of it is very straightforward on this subject. I hope people will forgive me for asking such pathetic questions.

[Darkplanet01]

Oh yeah, just a side note - free programs would be preferred.

[AHadley]

I think a lot of people use Gmax for modelling and threed for viewing.

[Zero Angel]

You can use threed to hack together parts from various other ships (so long as you have their XSI files -- Threed can't read MSH). Some of the starfleet and G66 units have done this, but most of the higher quality ships have been made from scratch using various modeling programs which can save to BZ2's softimage XSI format (the old version of XSI, newer XSI formats won't work in BZ2)

[lucky_foot]

Two possible choices for you:

SEMI-FREE

Milkshape 3D plus OvermindDl1's XSI exporter.

SITE: http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/
EXPORTER: http://www.overminddl1.com/forum/index.php/topic,95.0.html


FREE:

Blender 3D plus OvermindDL1's Blender XSI Exporter

SITE: http://www.blender.org/
EXPORTER: http://www.overminddl1.com/forum/index.php/topic,694.0.html

[TheJamsh]

what would we do without OM

[lucky_foot]

Given up modding quite a long time ago.

[VSMIT]

We had a big discussion about this a while back on MD.

http://www.bz2md.com/smf/index.php?topic=1903.0

VSMIT.

[General BlackDragon]

IF I had to pick a free program, i'd use gmax.

[Nielk1]

If you are really good with GMAX, look into buying 3DS Max, as at the rudimentary level, they are very similar. (IIRC)

[Darkplanet01]

Two possible choices for you:

SEMI-FREE

Milkshape 3D plus OvermindDl1's XSI exporter.

SITE: http://chumbalum.swissquake.ch/
EXPORTER: http://www.overminddl1.com/forum/index.php/topic,95.0.html


FREE:

Blender 3D plus OvermindDL1's Blender XSI Exporter

SITE: http://www.blender.org/
EXPORTER: http://www.overminddl1.com/forum/index.php/topic,694.0.html

Thanks. So far your post has been the most helpful because it included links to where I could get the software. Oh yeah, can these do animations as well? And how exactly do you create skins? (Yes, I know, more dumb questions...)

[VSMIT]

I'm not sure about Milkshape, but Blender can do animations.  To make skins for units, you have to UV map them (there will usually be a utility that you can use) and save the map as a BMP, JPG, PNG, etc., then you can color in the image as you see fit.  I've only used Lithunwrap and 3DS MAX's UV mapping tools, so I'm not entirely sure how Blender's or Milkshape's works.

VSMIT.

[TheJamsh]

WOW... i remember posting that some time last year...

I spent some time learning blender. there are VERY good tutorials for it, but DONT get it if youre new to modelling. IT confuses everything.

3DSMax is the best supported for BZ2...

[Darkplanet01]

WOW... i remember posting that some time last year...

I spent some time learning blender. there are VERY good tutorials for it, but DONT get it if youre new to modelling. IT confuses everything.

3DSMax is the best supported for BZ2...

So... where do I get this 3DSMax? Is it free?

[VSMIT]

If you can find it cheap, good for you.  It is a professional modeling program, and can cost a bundle for the most recent edition.  For a free program that has an extremely similar interface, GMAX is a good choice.

VSMIT.